Engine-starter



M. P. WHITNEY.

ENGINE STARTER.

APPLICATION FILED ocr. 1a. 1919.

1,392,995, Patented Oct. 11,1921.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MAURICE P. WHITNEY, OF ELMIRA, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR '10 ECLIPSE MACHINE COMPANY, 01 ELMIRA, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October is 1919. Serial No. 880,218.

To all whom it concern:

Be it known that I MAURICE P. WHITNEY, a citizen of the United States, residin at Elmira, in the county of Chemung and tate of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Engine-Starters, of which the following is a specification.

invention relates to an engine starter emp o yed for the purpose of starting an engine, such as an internal combustion engine and the same represents an improvement upon the type and construction of engine starter described and claimed in an aplication filed by William L. McGrath on ctober 1,1919, Serial No. 327,754, for improvements in engine starters. of starter is characterized b the embodiment of certain features 0 the Eclipse- Bendix drive but capable of operation by manual or foot actuation for the enga ement of the driving member or pinion w1th the engine member or flywheel of the engine, such engagement or meshing by means of the manual or foot actuation being either partial or complete as desired. The object of my invention is to provide the manual or foot operating mechanism with means whereby the starter may be operated in either direction by the fullcycle of movement of the manual or foot device at the comparatively slow speed of operation by hand or foot, but shal be disabled or disconnected at that speed of operation resulting from driving by power. This object is accomplished by means of a speed control means cooperating with said manual or foot operated mechanism which means forms an operating connection with the engine starter at all times except when such starter is power driven, whereupon such means is disconnected or disabled.

In the drawings Figure 1. is a sectional elevation of a starter embodying my invention and Fig. 2 a cross section on the line 22 of Fig. 1.

The structure illustrated in the drawing is selected as one embodiment of my invention but it will be understood that such embodiment, as well as the character and con This type ameter.

motor 1 having an extended armature shaft 2 extending through the end plate 3 of the motor frame and having an outer bearin at 4 1n the outer end of a housing 5 whic is attached by screws 6 to a bracket 7. This bracket 1s in the present instance a part of the frame of the automobile engine whose flywheel 8 is ex osed to the drive for startmg purposes. he armature shaft which is the drive shaft of the drive or transmission also has an intermediate bearing 9 formed 1n the extended outer end of a bracket 10 pro ect1ng from the end plate 3 of the motor. Thls bearing 9 supports the enlarged por t1on 11 of the driving shaft 2, which portion forms a stop for the pinion as hereinafter described.

Upon the intermediate portion of the drive shaft 1s mounted a screw shaft 12 which has at its outer end a driven head 13. Upon this Patented Oct. 11,1921.

here in the form of a pinion 14, adapted to mesh with the gear of the flywheel 8.

The driven head 13 of the screw shaft is operatively connected with a driving head 15 through the medium of a coiled drive spring 16 whose opposite ends are anchored to such heads respectively by studs 17 and 18. The screw shaft and its head 13 are not secured to the driving shaft 2 but float thereon. But the driving head 15- is secured to or is a part-of such driving shaft so that its motion may be communicated thereto and also the motion or rotation of the shaft 2 may be "communicated to such head 15.

Upon the driving shaft there is loosely mounted the rather lon pinion 19 and to the outer end of such sha t there is secured a casing 20 having its central portion adapted to receive and partially overhang this pinion 19. This casin is provided with a plurality of radial cham ers 21 of two different counter bores, the outer bein of the-larger di- Within these c ambers there are located a series of plungers 22 having enlarged heads 23 such heads being loosely movable within the outer counter bore and the plungers proper being loosely reciprocal in the inner end of these chambers. These plungers are retained within the casing by means of the circular band 24 secured to such casing by the screws 25. The inner ends of these plungers are adaptedto cooperate with and engage the teeth of the pimon 19. When the pinion is at rest or when the same is being operated at slow speed as by hand or foot operation, one of these plungers and preferably three thereof, as shown in F g. 2, are in operative engagement wlth the p 1n 1on by reason of gravity whereas the remaining three are free thereof.

The inion 19 is adapted to be rotated 1n either direction by means of the depresslble plunger 26 which has a rack ortlon 27 on one side and which is normal y held 1n 1ts upper position by means of the co1 l spring 28. The lower end of this plunger is ada ted to contact and operate the movable e ement 29 of a switch .30 which supphes current to the motor 1. By preference the parts are so constructed and arranged that the inion 14 is partially meshed with the flywheel by the hand operation'before the switch is operated after WhlCh full mesh 1s obtained in automatic manner by the rotation of the motor.

Describing a cycle of operation, when it 1s desired to start the engme the p lunger 26 is depressed whereupon the pinion 19 is rotated. Inasmuch as this rotation 1s at a rather slow speed the plungers 22 will form the operative connection betweenthis p1n1on and the shaft 2, with the result that such shaft will be rotated and the pinion 14 Wlll be advanced into partial mesh with the flywheel. The motor is now operated by the closing of the switch 30 and the pinion will thereupon be advanced into full mesh and when stopped a ainst the head 11 it will rotate and there% rotate the flywheel and start the engine. Vhen the engine has started on its .own power the inion 14 will be automatically demeshed an returned to normal position. When the drive shaft and consequently the casing .20 is rotated at high speed by means of the motor 1 the plungers 22 will be thrown outwardly away rom the pinion 19 by centrifugal force and thereby cause a disconnection etween such casin and this pinion. The plunger 26 is now ree to rise, during which operation the pinion 19 will be rotated idly on the shaft 2.

The construction of my speed control I means is such that it is in o erative engagement with the pinion 19 when at rest and also when such pinion and shaft 2 are rotated at such slow speeds as occur in manual or foot operation. And moreover, such engagement exists in both directions of rotation of such shaft. This latter is a feature of importance inasmuch as it permits of repetition of the initial movements to'cause partial meshing of the inion 14 such as is required in the event t at the teeth of the' pinion 14 should abut end to end with the] teeth on the flywheel. By repetitionof'the' initial movements the pinion can'be eventually properly meshed with the flywheel, but for such movements ii; is necessary that the pinion 14 should be restored to normal po- L siti'on and this requires a backward rotation of the shaft 2 and consequently the screw sleeve 12. This is accom lished by reason of the fact that the spec control means is inconstant operative connection with the pinion 19 during these reliminary movements, that is, both in t e downward and upward movements or strokes of the plunger 26.- Consequently after this plunger as been depressed and in case the pinion 14 should abut against the flywheel teeth, the operator releases the pressure on the plunger 26 and ermits it to rise whereupon the partsincluding pinion 19, casing 20, shaft 2 and shaft 12 are rotated in the opposite direction, with the result that the. pinion 14 will be retracted to normal position and made ready for the repetition or next pretatable shaft, a driving member mountedthereon for automatic longitudinal movement thereof and for rotary movement therewith, and manually 0 rated mechanism for rotating such sha t, such mechanism including a clutch adapted to be disabled upon excessive speed rotation of the shaft.

3. The combination of a motor driven rotatable shaft, a driving member mounted thereon for automatic longitudinal movement thereof and for rotary movement therewith, and manually 0 rated mechanism for rotating such sha such mechanism including a clutch operative at manual driving speeds of the shaft but inoperative at power driving speeds thereof.

4. The combination of a motor driven rotatable shaft, adriving member mounted thereon for automatic longitudinal movement thereof and for rotary movement therewith, and manually operated mechanism for rotating such shaft, such mechanism includmg a manually operated rack, a inion mounted on the shaft and driven by the rack and a speed controlled connectin means between the pinion and shaft ada to tooperatively connect such parts in 0th directions of rotation of the shaft.

The combination of a motor driven rotatabl'e shaft, a driving member mounted thereon for automatic longitudinal movement thereof and for rotary movement therewith, andinaiiually operated mechanism for rotating such shaft, such mechanism including a manually operated rack, a pinion mounted on the shaft and driven by the rack, and speed controlled means comprising a plurality of radially movable plungers operatively connected with the shaft, some of which plungers constantly engage the pinion when at rest and when rotated at a manual driving speed but which are rendered inoperative at a power driving speed.

6. Th combination of a motor driven rotatable shaft, a driving member mounted thereon for automatic longitudinal movement thereof and for rotary movement there with, and manually operated mechanism for rotating such shaft, such mechanism including a manually operated rack, a pinion mounted on the shaft and "driven by the rack, and speed controlled means comprising a casing secured to the shaft, a plurality of plungers mounted therein radially with respect to the shaft and pinion and in position so that one or more thereof constantly engage the pinion when at rest and when rotated at a manual driving speed but adapted to be disengaged therefrom b centrifugal force when rotated at a ower riving speed.

7 The combination 0 a motor driven rotatable shaft, a driving member mounted thereon for automatic longitudinal movement thereof and for rotary movement therewith, and manually operated mechanism for rotating such shaft, such mechanism including a manually operated rack, a pinion mounted on the shaft and driven by the rack, and speed controlled means comprising a casing secured to the shaft, a plurality of plungers mounted therein radially with respect to the shaft and pinion and in position so that one or more thereof constantly engage the pinion when at rest and when rotated at a manual driving speed but adapted to be disengaged therefrom by centrifugal force when rotated at a power driving speed, said plungers having weighted heads. I

8. The combination of a motor driven rotatable shaft, a driving member mounted thereon for automatic longitudinal movement thereof and for rotary movement therewith, and manually operated mechanism for rotating such shaft, such mechanism including a manually operated rack, a pinion mounted on the shaft and driven by the rack, a casin secured to the shaft and having a central bore overhanging a portion of the pinion and a plurality of plungers arranged radially in the casing and around the pinion and adapted to reciprocate within such casing and into contact with the pinion.

9. The combination of a motor driven rotatable shaft, a driving member mounted thereon for automatic longitudinal movement thereof and for rotary movement therewith, and manually operated mechanism fpr rotating such shaft, such mechanism including a clutch operatively connected with the drive shaft in both directions of rotation thereof, such clutch being speed controlled but affected only by the high speed of the shaft when driven b the motor.

MAURICE P. W ITNEY. 

